6 Ways Chatbots Can Help You Run a Successful Ecommerce Business

It is undisputable that any ecommerce website can be improved by utilizing chatbots. Bots hold such great potential that, one day, they might as well make human customer support obsolete. Still, let us not get ahead of ourselves and think how we can use them today.

One thing that is certain is that bots have advanced forward; they have evolved from a marketing or branding tool into a valuable asset that can successfully drive conversions or capture leads. Considering how almost any online store is a messaging platform in a way, it would be unwise not to start implementing chatbots.

Here, we will examine how chatbots can help your customer base grow and how they can increase the number of sales. Here are six ways how chatbots can help you run a successful ecommerce business.

It is becoming a trend

A chatbot is basically a messaging service that provides users with answers depending on their query. It is a simplified form of artificial intelligence that has a specific set of rules and functions.

Considering how chatbot can be accessed through messaging apps, like Messenger for example, and how people spent a great deal of time chatting online, having a chatbot can be an incredible competitive advantage.

Furthermore, chatbots are easy to set up and there are no complicated requirement or barriers that can get in the way, so all you need to do is decide to use one. The number of people that chat and shop via smartphones is on a constant rise and so too is chatbot use. Platforms like Snatchbot.me even allow you to create a chatbot for free. So it’s no wonder that they are growing exponentially.

It can perform sales presentations

People in the fashion industry clearly know what they are doing when it comes to chatbots. During the past holiday season, Nordstrom launched its chatbot that featured a high number of personalized questions that result in great gift suggestions.

This was so much more than a casual “Yes” or “No” approach, since answers were accompanied by images of products which really helped drive engagement. The bot was integrated with Facebook’s Messenger as well, which made the whole thing even more accessible to their users.

It can help build brand loyalty

Even though it’s not a real person behind the live chat, it is surprising how favorably customers react to chatbots. Customers expect from providers to be constantly available, however, today, online stores have customers all over the world. In other words, due to the time zone difference, it would be extremely costly to be available for anyone at any given time and this is where chatbots can be incredibly helpful.

You create a chatbot that is an interactive version of your FAQ page, so to speak. This way, though several clicks, a concerned customer might convey their problem and the chatbot can display an adequate solution.

By providing solutions to issues your consumers have, even without being physically present, you can boost your reliability and brand loyalty. The only issue stems from frustration itself, since the customer might be irritated by something that happened and being handled by a chatbot is not a treatment they expect. So, try to adapt your messages to deal with that scenario as well.

It boosts your availability

Chatbots can also help during lengthy customer queues and they can handle simple customer service tasks, or assign a customer to a corresponding operative. Again, the faster you handle your customer queues, the more you will be available and this results in a more pleasant user experience.

With thorough calibration, you can create a chatbot that can handle a majority of your customer queries and customer support agents will always be available to handle more complex and pressing problems.

It can capture leads

Even though they might not be able to completely replace your sales force, chatbots can still capture leads while you are not present. You can handle inquisitive customers by asking them to leave their email, or to simply send you an email. This way, you will reduce the number of potential customers you failed to convert simply because no one was present at the moment.

At the end of the day, it is your customer support agent

Finally, even though it was quite obvious from previous examples, it is worth mentioning that chatbots are basically another agent. They might not be as smart as a real human, but they can be charming and quite efficient when it comes to the number of people they can handle simultaneously. So, if you are running an ecommerce website, a chatbot will prove to be a worthy assistant.

These were some of the main reasons why chatbots can be beneficial for ecommerce websites, and also why a lot of your peers use them. You should keep up with your competition and current trends by employing this AI assistant and allowing it to take some pressure off staff workloads.

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